CLOSE-UP: Newsmaker/Kai-Lu Hsiung - A former receptionist who holds the reins at RSA.

Kai-Lu Hsiung is not fazed about taking over the RSA hotseat.

Managing the soon-to-be knighted Ridley Scott's flagship London enterprise would be a daunting task for anyone, let alone a 38-year-old, pint-sized former receptionist. But Kai-Lu Hsiung is refusing to let the scale of the task, becoming the managing director of RSA Films and Black Dog Films, phase her.

She might be open, friendly, fun-loving and popular, but the new no-nonsense managing director says she is simply going to put her head down and get on with it.

Her main concern at the moment, she jokes, is that the same fate doesn't befall her as that of her predecessor, Adrian Harrison, who, a few months into the role, found himself not only grey but four-stone lighter.

Harrison, who has been with RSA for 15 years, has watched the business get tougher and tougher, with reduced mark-ups, shrinking budgets and an ever-increasing number of directors competing for work. RSA is making no secret of the fact that last year was the worst in its 35-year history.

Hsiung is having to get acquainted with figures at a break-neck speed and has some difficult decisions ahead. Taking the helm mid-recession means she will have to cut costs and she is planning to lease some of the company's expensive Soho office space.

However, she's adamant that she won't get stuck behind a desk: 'I still want to be hands-on, maintaining relationships, generating work, producing occasionally and looking for new talent. My main goal is getting the balance right; keeping the creativity and the award-winning directors and making sure things are financially viable. I just want to make sure that everyone is busy.'